Entwined Fates
by LynxbyLynx
Summary: First they blew up an ooman mall. Now their going to crash an ooman prom. Join Rh'vage and Vis'chus as they end up taking two familiar ooman females back to their homeworld with them. It was either that or leave them to become the pets of the ooman gov.
1. The Beginning

**[Author's Note: Hello all. Thank you for joining me on the journey of a sequel. I left you with quite the little surprising ending in the first book didn't I? Never mind that now, at least you made it here alive. Ah. Here's the disclaimer: I do not own Alien or Predator. I am not making money off of this. In fact, I may even be LOSING money on this. XD. But I am gaining writing experience and some wonderful critics. I ask again that you SIGN in, so that I can respond personally to any and all reviews directed at me. Again, the Author's note is here to explain some things about the story for you. **

**The Molt: Something I made up COMPLETELY, so please don't steal without permission. I promise I'll let people use it if they tell me when and where. I plan on going into SO much more detail about that in this sequel. It's going to be rated M for a BIG reason. I'll try to warn people in the Author's note at the beginning when those things will be happening okay…. Now… Where was I… Oh yes. **

**I notice that a few people seem to have something against Terra as a character. Well, oh well. Sometimes you DON'T like people in life. Terra is one of those people, but she's my character and I'm going to have FUN developing her. So get over it. You weren't told you HAD to read the story. *shrugs* There's this little red X at the top right-hand corner of the screen that's VERY clickable okay? Now, without further ado. Enjoy the first chapter to this story.]**

**Chapter One: The beginning**

"Hey Liz…Prom is in like… a few days," Terra said as they started home on their way from the high school. She had her wavy dark brown hair pinned back off her face by a black beret. Her dark brown eyes were like molten chocolate as she gave her companion a quizzical look beneath long lashes. Her skin had a nice healthy glow to it, and had reached the color of lightly toasted bread. A rich golden-brown color like a mocha with a few extra shots of cream. She had on a dark blue blouse that dipped in a V neckline and had ruffled sleeves. Her pants were bellbottoms and peeking out on her feet where designer black boots. She had only one strap of her navy-blue backpack on her arm. Dangling from her ears were black feathers on silver chains. She wore a light rose shade of lipstick and a thin coat of mascara.

"Yeah. Your point?" the companion demanded in a low uncaring tone of voice. She had short black hair with bangs that hung over her left eye and Porcelain doll skin that seemed to cry out for want of light. Icy blue eyes met the brown ones with a disregarding air. Liz wore a black shirt that hung down off her shoulders to wrap around her chest with sleeves that came down to about mid-palm. Underneath it, she wore a black bra, and the straps were visible to anyone who even glanced at her. On her right shoulder there was a very prominent scarring, seeming almost randomly placed to the casual observer but to those who knew…It symbolized something much greater. She had on tight black skinny jeans that were tucked into combat boots, and even had a skull side backpack. Her nails were painted black but the finger nail polish was chipped and in due for a good touch up. Her ears were pierced twice in the lobes and at least three times at the top ridge going downwards. The left side of her nose was also pierced, and she had on black lipstick along with a ton of black mascara. Snaking around her waist was a chain belt and around her neck, she had a black choker with a red cross.

"Who are you going with? Tommy asked me to the dance…I'm totally going with him," Terra said quickly in a high-pitched voice, batting her eyelashes and rolling her eyes slightly as she licked her bottom lip in dreamy bliss of the aforementioned boy. "He has a mustang by the way…A MUSTANG."

"What's so epic about a mustang?" Liz asked, still with the same neutral and uncaring tone of voice she'd been using. She acted as if she didn't have a real care for life.

"Well, in Dooms-ville…They might not know that a mustang is where people shack it up after Prom for the AFTER-PARTY," Terra murmured, giving her friend an unbelieving look, "Come on…you have to know what I'm talking about…it's what proms ALL about." Still no reaction from Liz that showed that she even knew what the other girl was talking about. "ELIZABETH MONROE! I'm talking about getting LAID here!" The brunette said, throwing her arms up into the air, "That's what proms all about…the delicious, animalistic, and hardcore sex afterwards…So, who are YOU going with?" Liz looked away, biting on her bottom lip in a nervous gesture.

"I wasn't planning on going…I was going to stay home…read a book…or play some video games," Liz muttered and glanced at her friend worriedly when she screeched.

"You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me!" Terra screamed in utter disbelief. "Oh my god…you aren't…oh my god…CHILD…where have you BEEN?" She quickly placed the back of her palm onto Liz's forehead. "No…no fever…Come on…hasn't SOMEONE caught your eye? I mean…you hang out with such a weird crew…maybe SOMEONE'S interested in you-OH! Here comes Damien…He's dreamy~!" A 1990 Pontiac Firebird Formula car pulled up, a dark red paint color.

"Hey ladies," a white male called out from the car. He had shaggy dark brown hair and similar brown eyes. He was pretty buff under his tight-white shirt and his black leather jacket. He'd slowed down so that he was cruising alongside them.

"Hello Damien~!" Terra called out with a wink, but his attention seemed fixed on Elizabeth as she walked with her head down and her books clutched tightly to her chest.

"So…Liz, right?" He called out. She nodded meekly, not looking over at him. "You got a date to the Prom yet?" She shook her head. "How 'bout you and me go together? Hm? A good looking girl like you with a pretty decent looking guy like me? Yeah? How about that?" She said nothing and Terra looked like she was going to die from holding in her squealing. Liz gave a slight shrug, as if she wasn't sure. "Hm? You got other plans or something?" She shook her head quickly. "Alright…Then I don't see a problem…I'll pick you up around… 8? That good?" A quick nod of her head and his engine roared as he sped off down the road.

"Oh…my…god," Terra gasped and then squealed like an idiot, "HOW DID YOU DO IT?"

"…Quiet charms," Elizabeth replied, with a slight smug grin.

"you DOG you! OOOH! If I had anywhere NEAR the talent you've got!" Terra screeched, jerking on her friends arm," Tell me you have a dress picked out!" Liz shook her head no, "NO? Then we are GOING SHOPPING! IMMEDIATELY!"

"I…thought I'd just pick something out to wear," Elizabeth admitted quietly.

"Just…pick…something…out," Terra mumbled, giving Liz a look like she was going to kill her, "Sweetheart…I did NOT just hear that come out of your mouth did I? No. Good. I thought I was imagining that. Prom's a night where you dress your best…and give people a glowing IMPRESSION about yourself. We are going shopping, and I'm doing up your hair…Yeah…as little hair as you've GOT…I guess we can just straighten it…and get it OUT of your face…sheesh…" She flicked her friend's bangs as she spoke. "It's like you're trying to hide behind there…What happened to you?" Liz gave her a confused look. "You know…you were all Warrior on me at the mall—"

"Don't Terra. Don't bring it up…It's all about forgetting and moving on," Liz muttered darkly, giving Terra a dark look, "Don't bring it up again. Please. Just drop it."

"So…you wanna pretend like it never happened?" Terra asked confused, her eyes widening slightly, "You've got to be kidding me…I'm NOT forgetting about them…and you shouldn't EITHER. We survived that…and what happened?" Terra demanded, tapping her own chest, "I think I got a lot from that."

"You became one of the 'popular' kids…Terra…since Victoria died," Liz muttered, looking away" "You've changed Terra…for the worse…"

"What? No I haven't! I'm still me!" Terra shouted as if Liz had accused her of killing puppy dogs for fun. "No way." Liz shook her head slowly.

"You're all about fashion…and looks…and guys," Elizabeth continued on, "It's all about the latest gossip with you. You aren't the same. You've changed…"

"I'm still your friend," Terra put in, as if stressing a point, "I'm still here for you…you know what you did? Instead of moving on, and ENJOYING life like you should…you've retreated into yourself. You're a shell of what you use to be, which wasn't much to begin with." Terra snapped, hurtfully with a slight sneer, "I'm trying to help you out here, so you can get laid…and experience things like they are suppose to be. Not so that you can just sink into yourself and become some sort of pitiful mess of a quiet shy girl who accomplishes NOTHING. That's what you are…NOTHING. Me? I'm going places! I'm moving up the chain…You? You're nothing. You're going to become part of the wall…forgotten by everyone. Me? I'm making an IMPRESSION, leaving my name on the world." She shook her head, seeming to get angry, "You know what. You do what you want to get ready for Prom. I don't care. I hope we don't even SEE each other." She stormed off, her designer boots clicking on the ground in a huff. Elizabeth sighed, seeming to become more depressed than she had been earlier as she made her way home.

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"THE NERVE OF HER!" Terra shrieked, slinging her front door open. It banged against the wall and the maid scurried to hide somewhere until Terra was done. "MOTHER! MOTHER!" She shrieked in as high-pitched a tone as she could muster. There was a clicking of a door somewhere on the second floor before Terra's mom descended the stairs. She had mousey gray-streaked black hair piled up on her head and pinned into place. Her red business suit seemed out of place with how tired she appeared and her skin was the color of dark chocolate.

"Yes darling?" her mother questioned, fiddling with her watch.

"Oh hi mom," Terra said, snaking forward to peck a kiss on her mom's cheek, "…I honestly forgot what I wanted…"

"Your dress came in today…along with your heels…will you need anything else for this…prom night? Whatever it is?" her mother asked, heading over to a table where a briefcase perched waiting for her. She picked it up, seeming to be simply asking the questions out of duty rather than personal interest.

"Not that I know of," Terra replied honestly with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Well good…I'm off…They want me in California for something…I've got to fly out today, and I should be back in a few days. Nina the maid is here, so get her if you need anything and I'll be back as soon as I can, sweetie," Her mom said, and kissed her cheek, "Have a good time at this dance thingy…and use protection if you need it."

"Yes mother," Terra said rolling her eyes with a depressed sigh and heading off into the kitchen to rummage in the refrigerator for a snack. The fact that Elizabeth had accused her of changing, and taking over Icky Vicky's place had her mad…It also left a sour taste in her mouth. Not that it was true though. It couldn't be true. She was the same. It was just that Liz had sunken so far into herself that it just appeared that Terra was a completely different person. Yeah. That had to be it. She finally settled on an apple from the bowl of fruits on the kitchen counter and headed upstairs to her room. That's when she discovered she had a problem.

A major problem. See. She had a secret. Yes, she'd survived being in a mall trapped with a bunch of psycho cat-aliens trying to kill her and three buff Yautja men who she still admired but she'd done something very bad. She'd kept one of the cat-aliens as a pet. It was different then all the ones in the mall who'd attacked her. This one was also intelligent. It hadn't killed Terra, and it'd even stayed in her walk-in closet. Well. That's where the problem came in. Her closet door was broken off, hanging by its top hinge and her window had been smashed open by something getting out.

Yeah. There was now another alien on the loose. She rubbed at her temples with a deep breath. It couldn't get that bad right? All she had to do was go out and look for it. Not like it could somehow reproduce right? Only queens could do that? And prom was in two nights. All she had to do was find it, and stick it in the shed or something. That would do. She dropped her backpack on the floor and grabbed her purse before heading down into the woods to try and find her pet-Alien before any harm was done.

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Alright, so telling off her only friend probably hadn't been a good idea. Liz sighed as she made her way home the rest of the way by herself. She didn't really want to go to Prom. She still didn't see what the big idea was. She made it to her front door and stood on tiptoes, feeling the top of the door frame for the key, which she used to unlock the house before putting it back up in its place. She glanced around quickly with slight paranoia before slamming the door shut and locking it. Dead-bolt in place, she relaxed slightly before heading to the kitchen where she slipped her backpack off onto the kitchen counter. She grabbed a pear from the fruit bowl in the cabinet and snacked on it as she thought about prom.

It was a big night for seniors at high school for some reason. Liz had always just attributed that to the fact that couples got to dress up really fancy and take pictures as they hung out with each other. Not that it made a lot of sense to her to waste that much time and money on something she deemed stupid. Who cared about dressing up all pretty and paying some fine just to dance in the school gym for a night? Maybe she was missing it. Perhaps it had to do with what Terra said…Getting Laid. That was sex. Not the forced kind of awkward incest rape her father had always partaken in. This was sex that was mutual. Two people fucking for the simple pleasure of being in each other's company. But what was the point if it was simply your high school or college that you were most likely never going to see again in life. A one-night stand or something? That didn't make too much sense to her. She took another bite out of the pear, absent-mindedly swiping at her chin as the sticky sweet juice dribbled down her chin. Was she going to get laid? Did she even want to get laid?

It might be good for her. She needed to get over this…repulsion to getting physical with people. So many people had died at the mall…People she didn't even know. All because of a gas explosion. She rubbed at her temples as her head throbbed. Yeah. Side-effects of the explosion. The doctor had said she would suffer some side-effects and had given her anti-anxiety pills, along with some stuff for depression. She wasn't sure if they were helping but she dutifully took them. She had even gone to a counselor who had sent her to the doctor to get prescriptions to help her cope with whatever had happened at the mall. So she was coping. She'd become a little bit withdrawn, so Terra's words were true but she was coping with things. An explosion had killed Daniel, someone she could've possibly gone somewhere with in the future. She sighed, tossing the remainder of the pear in the trash as she lost her sense of taste for it. So much for that. She washed her hands off in the sink and toweled them off roughly. She'd made up her mind. She would have sex with Damien and she would enjoy it.

She made her way to her room and started going through her closet. She didn't have much money really, so she was going to have to make her own dress. Shouldn't be too hard. She fished out a black corset she had and then fished out a few random skirts of hers. Her black strapped heels would look good with what she had in mind. She fished out her sketchbook and with a pencil started to outline what she wanted. She would use the corset as a tight-fitting bodice to accent the narrowness of her waistline, the flare of her hips and the natural curve of her breasts. She would use some of the lacy material from the black skirt to create a slight loop from the top corner of the corset to go around her upper shoulders where they would then be able to kind of sit on air over her shoulders in the end like puffy sleeve-straps in a way. The rest of the skirts would be butchered to create a mini-A-line version of a skirt wrap that wouldn't be very long in the front but would sweep down partially in the back to create the allure from behind of having a decent-length dress. She could do all the alterations herself with no problem. Her makeup wouldn't be that hard to do either. Considering her dress was going to be mostly black with some accents of white see-through lace, she planned on going with her blood-red lipstick and heavy mascara. She'd repaint her nails black obviously and then tip them with white.

The dress would leave her shoulders practically naked along with her legs. The perfect combination for a male with desire for female touch. She smirked as she began butchering the skirts, tearing out the previous stitching in them. They had long since served their purpose and now would be reborn in a unique manner. She had to stop to go fetch the proper resources to begin the alterations, which consisted of the scissors and the needle and thread. She would hand-sew her entire dress together. She had to pause once again to go fetch the measuring tape so she could make sure her cuts were precise to her body structure. Only then was she completely satisfied with her master-piece. She slipped out of her clothes and into her dress and twirled around in plain view of her full-length mirror to take in the end-piece. It was perfect. Absolutely stunning. Just wait until Damien got a good-look at her, he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off her.

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"Here Kitty-kitty…come on you stupid overgrown mutated iguana pet," Terra growled under her breath as she walked through the woods with her flash-light, trying to find her lost 'pet'. No luck at all. Her curls were springing free of the pin she'd put them up in earlier and she kept having to tuck the fly-aways behind her ear. She scowled, glaring into the trees around her as the sky continued to darken. That was making the woods extremely dark too. "Okay. FINE! You want to stay out in the woods tonight? Fine by me! I have more important things to worry about then your freaking ass freezing out here!" She stomped away, unimpressed by her mutant-kats decision to run away from her. It wasn't fair. Today had definitely NOT gone anything like she had planned.

She made it back to her house in pretty decent shape, a little flustered and wanting a nice long relaxing soak in the tub. Nina was preparing dinner when she slid the back doors open to come in. The house smelled great….warm…inviting…not at ALL like something her mother could possibly get done on her own. That's why they had a maid. Nina was more a mother to her then her own mother. The short, plump Hispanic woman was humming under her breath as she stirred something that sizzled in the pan. The aroma was thick in the air and heavenly. Terra's stomach growled slightly and Nina turned to her with a kind smile, the one that crinkled the corners of her eyes.

"Go now child. Clean up. This will be done by the time you finish with your soak," the woman told her, and made a gesture to the stairs, "I took the liberty of drawing some bath water for you already. Go. Go."

"Thank you, Nina," Terra said with a slight bow of her head before heading upstairs to the large luxurious bathing room up there. Sure enough, she could smell jasmine hovering in the air mixed with traces of lavender. She stripped her clothes off, heading for the huge bathtub and dipped her toe in to test the water. Steam rose from it in large swirls and she allowed herself to sink in quickly with a slight hiss as the hot water washed over her. She hadn't realized how tense she really was. It was that stupid demon cat's fault. She didn't need to be stressed. She needed to concentrate on being pretty. She sighed, sinking down into the frothy bubbles that adorned the top of the steaming water and relaxed her mind. There was even faint music playing in the background. Nina was too kind to her.

She really needed to think about Prom. She'd ordered a dress online and shoes to match. Special delivery and all. It was going to be a very special night. Very special indeed. Her dress was a beautiful cream color with a wrap around neck style opening to a diamond cross cut on her chest to the belt-like pattern around her waist. Her back would be bare as there were no sleeves on the thing and then there was a large slit up the right side. Her shoes were a see-through plastic-like material. As for her hair, she planned on doing a bunch of elaborate braids and pinning them up in a fancy up-do on her head. Her makeup would be simple enough, but she would be stunning to say the least. She really hoped Tommy-boy would be able to please her as well as she was fantasizing. Her fingers, which had rested on the rim of the bathtub slipped into the water and to her thighs. Gently resting there before sliding slowly up, her manicured nails tracing circular patterns over her skin as she made her way up to belly button. Her eyes were pressed shut gently as she imagined the night she would have. She'd have to warn Tommy not to get too rough until her dress was off safely. It had cost quite a lot of money, and she would hate to see it get ruined over some hot passionate love making. One of her fingertips gently massaged her clit as she slipped into blissful thoughts of self-stimulation. Sure, it wasn't much but it helped.

**[Author's End Note: I totally planned on making this particular chapter longer… Totally, but I decided I'd leave the FUN-bits for the next chapter. Oh yeah. If the ENDING wasn't a slight tip-off to how the REST of this story will go, I don't know WHAT will be expected in a full-out smutty scene of some sort. Yeah. That MIGHT be in here, maybe not in LOADS of detail…maybe. As for a sexually active girl, PLEASING herself slightly in a long bath-tub? I don't know if people REALLY do that. Yes. I'm a female. No, I'm not sexually active. Not even really attracted to that whole 'sex-drive' sht. I also don't know ANYTHING about people stimulating themselves other than what I've read in a few stories or what my friends have shared with me. So sorry. I DID warn you guys. I hope you've enjoyed the first installation to this story. Thanks again to Khalthar for agreeing to stick with my story and be my wonderful beta again, without you. I wouldn't have flourished, and I sure as HELL wouldn't have finished the first story. Hope you guys enjoyed and PLEASE leave me a review somewhere.]**

**Some random other end note: This chapter was done a VERY long aft time ago, but I never got around to posting it up because I vowed to have chapter two and three done by the time this one went up. I break my promises easily. HELLO WORLD. Take a peek right? Please review okay? **


	2. Arrival

**[Author's Note: Disclaimer in first chapter-Don't own. Don't care. Gonna write anyway]**

**Chapter Two: Arrival**

Rh'vage tugged lightly on the end of one of his dreadlocks, checking that his beaded clasp was still in place. They were, and also extremely tender still. A twinge of throbbing pain shot through it, and made him regret checking it. He was marked for surviving his chiva anyway, and bringing back a trophy. He scanned the console before him, settling back into the command chair with a slight smirk of contentment. It felt good to be able to finally lay claim to a ship of his own. He felt a thrum of happiness start to swell in his chest, but he cut it off shortly as the sounds of footsteps entered his hearing. He sat up straighter, trying to appear more alert and peeked around in his peripheral view.

"You don't have to pose and pretend for me, brother," his younger sibling's voice cut in and he visibly relaxed. A hand clasped the back of his chair, and his brother's dreadlocks fell into his view as Vis'chus leaned forward to look at the screen before them of the star charts. "Hm…why are you looking at that particular system?" Rh'vage heard the slight accusation behind it. With a small flick of his finger over the chair console, the charts disappeared. It'd been hovering in midair anyways. Rh'vage twisted in his chair to glance up at his younger brother.

"What are you getting at?" Rh'vage questioned, fiddling with an armor plate over his right fore-arm. It was brand new armor and it didn't feel right on him. It was more for appearance than anything else. Ceremonial wear. He hated it. It wouldn't help him fight or hunt anything either. Vis'chus was quiet, mandibles flaring slightly before folding back under with ease. Rh'vage glanced up at the sound of something falling to the ground just as Ph'ury scrambled in, attempting to collect the scattered pieces of yet another piece of equipment he'd taken apart. The younger Yautja probably had found a design schematic and was going to try improving it, but had come to ask for Rh'vage's permission…since Rh'vage was now his mentor.

"Rh'vage, Sir," Ph'ury said excitedly as he entered the bridge. He gave a respectful dip of his head to Vis'chus who was still leaning against the chair like an idiot. Vis'chus straightened slowly, no need for Ph'ury to report back to his father about them. Mh'dur had been rather insistent on Rh'vage becoming the mentor to his youngest son. Mh'dur's mate had passed away shortly after their return from the planet Earth where they'd had to destroy an ooman mall.

"Yes?" Rh'vage asked, hands folded together with elbows propped up on either side of the chair. He was attempting to look as Mh'dur always appeared to him, wise and intimidating. He didn't think it was working.

"I think I can increase the efficiency of the plasma propulsion system on the 9B cannon," Ph'ury said excitedly and Rh'vage suddenly realized what Ph'ury had in his hands. Vis'chus's old cannon blaster that had been left in the discard pile in the weapons room. Rh'vage didn't really mind that Ph'ury had taken it apart, and if the kid really could fix it and make it better—all the better for them.

"You have my permission," Rh'vage grunted and the kid turned around and scurried away. Most likely to hide in his quarters where he'd be working on the gun for days. Rh'vage sighed, rubbing a hand across the crest of his forehead. Vis'chus chuckled, and gripped his brother's shoulder lightly.

"I take it as a sign of respect, and trust…that Mh'dur thought highly enough of you to allow his last son to travel with you," Vis'chus pointed out and Rh'vage growled.

"I take it more as a sign that he wanted to torture me," Rh'vage murmured back. Alarms went off and the two whirled around to check out the message. Trouble on Earth again. One of the Yautja stationed there had been killed by a xenomorph. Rh'vage passed his claws over the screen, seeking a location and froze.

"…Coincidence?" Vis'chus questioned, leaning forward to peer at it. Rh'vage shook his head a little too quickly, soft throbs of pain reminding him why he shouldn't. "We're the only ship in this area…the only ones who could properly respond to it too…" He pressed a button on his gauntlet. "Ph'ury, report back to the bridge…" A few seconds passed before the thudding sound of feet could be heard. Ph'ury almost slid past the door in his haste to make it as quickly as he could.

"Yes sir," he barked out, standing at attention. His face quivered with excitement as he studied the screen. "Oh, nice. Are we going to hunt some hard-meat once and for all? This is going to be sweet." He seemed to eager for the chance to spill blood.

"No," Rh'vage snapped at him, and Ph'ury seemed to deflate. "…Vis'chus and I will perform whatever hunting is deemed necessary…while you will watch…and learn…you will stay on the ship unless instructed otherwise…watching from our feeds…You will not be involved. Understood?" Ph'ury was gloom but nodded his head in understanding with a slight sigh, as he shuffled back to his quarters. Rh'vage leaned back in his seat before keying in the coordinates. He wouldn't be able to land his ship, it was far too big. But he would place it in orbit and then they would take a smaller landing craft down to the planet to survey it.

"Well…time to gear up," Vis'chus commented before leaving his older brother in quiet contemplation. Rh'vage remembered all too well the events that had occurred the last time they were on this planet. A ping of the communication system caught his attention and he answered it. Mh'dur appeared on the screen.

"I see you've chosen to respond to the call," Mh'dur spoke up pleasantly enough.

"Your son will be left aboard the ship to watch us," Rh'vage replied evenly and Mh'dur gave a slight nod of his head.

"It would not take me long to reach your ship…Shall I continue towards you on the off- chance that you need back-up?" Mh'dur asked in a teasing tone of voice.

"You know we do not need your assistance in this simple matter," Rh'vage replied with an up-turning of his mandibles in good humor," But you are more than welcome to come and check in on Ph'ury."

"I will take you up on your offer…Good hunting, and take care," Mh'dur told him before the screen went black. A flick of his finger and it disappeared completely. Rh'vage watched as the ship slowly approached its destination. Earth. He let out a sigh before standing up, it would be time to get ready. He headed out of the room and down the hall towards the armory where he found Vis'chus already gearing up. His brother kept a very low-key profile, with self-heating insulation suit netting and what appeared to be light padding on himself. His gauntlets were fixed with claws and their double extension. The other weapons included the extending spear, along with some nice looking shuriken and a small throwing dagger that was properly weighted for deep penetration. Rh'vage stripped his armor to replace it with a more comfortable and flexible covering of armor material. He mounted his shoulder cannon, then strapped on his hip gun as well as making certain his detonator was synced correctly. The two headed for the landing craft, not noticing the smaller male Yautja who'd suited up and snuck after them to hide in the smaller craft with them. Using one of his own inventions to create an interfering feedback loop of static that would make him appear invisible to their systems. He was going to get his first kill, regardless of what they told him. Ph'ury was ready for this hunt. He didn't know why everyone kept making him wait for it.

Rh'vage was a fair hand at flying now, and entered the Earth's atmosphere without a hitch. The landing was smooth as well and he activated the camouflage of the ship, to keep it out of the prying eyes of the ooman. He'd done more studying on oomans and had trained even harder with his weapons. Vis'chus had gone a much different route than when he'd first started out. Originally his younger brother was learning all he could about everything in order to fix things and better adapt their technology—Ph'ury was better at it by far—but his brother decided that medical things called to him. Now he went about fixing living things, and researching them. Rh'vage clicked his helmet in place, watching as his brother did the same. Then they headed for the loading bay of the ship, prepared to exit until Rh'vage noticed a strange thing happening to his reading output. Some slight flicker of interference. Shouldn't have been occurring, given that Rh'vage always made sure his ship was in top condition—and this included the smaller landing vessel. Swiftly his hand shot out to grasp around someone else and he hefted the much smaller form of Ph'ury up into the air.

"Do explain to me what part of 'stay on the ship' you seemed to have not understood?" Rh'vage growled out, partially because he didn't want to have to deal with Mh'dur if something happened to the young unblooded male. Ph'ury was dropped just as quickly and stood up, to try and explain himself.

"It's not fair," The younger Yautja growled out, crossing his arms over his chest in irritation. He was all decked up as if he were going to enter a battle, mask in place correctly and he had wrist gauntlets with the single extension claws. His gun wasn't as hi-powered as Rh'vage's was…so that led him to believe that the kid knew what he could mess with and had only taken the things he'd been trained in. That showed him that the other was actually thinking at least and taking this seriously.

"You don't always get to do what you want in life," Rh'vage replied testily and Ph'ury tilted his head forward, indicating that he was staring at the ground instead of Rh'vage. "…you can come this one time…but you will be given a punishment when we return back to the ship." Ph'ury nodded, once again eager at the chance to join the hunt. "You have to listen to me though…and do everything that I tell you too." Ph'ury nodded excitedly and Rh'vage felt the beginnings of worry gnaw at his stomach. This wasn't going to be a smooth trip after all. He scratched idly at his arm as they headed out of the ship. At least this time he wasn't experiencing the molt and could operate with a level head. Besides, it wasn't as if they'd actually run into _them_ by any chance. "Keep your camouflage active." The three hunters departed the ship in silence, cloaked by the surrounding darkness of the world. Rh'vage pulled up the report on his visor, checking on any details. Well, they were going to have to head for Stone High. This was where the last report had been filed of a disturbance.

"This will be fun," Vis'chus said, obviously having come to the same conclusion Rh'vage just had." Do you think they'll remember us?" Ph'ury tilted his head in confusion, not knowing who they were even referring to.

"They probably would if they saw us," Rh'vage commented idely.

"Ah…but we plan on going in unseen and unheard?" Vis'chus questioned and shook his head with a chuckle, "Why do I feel as if this will not work out?" Rh'vage glanced behind them to make sure Ph'ury was keeping up. He had a really bad feeling about letting the kid tag along after all.

She sat in quiet mediation in the center of the empty room. Full length mirrors lined all of the walls around her. Her knees were bent, with the lower legs folded beneath her as she rested her hands on her thighs. In for four, Out for four. Repeat. Let all tension flow outward. Her raven-black hair was braided back tightly and hung to her hips. Almond shaped eyes gave her a naturally inquisitive and exotic look, which matched her tan-hued skin of Asian descent. She was a medium height woman but petite with small curves. She was also a highly trained warrior. Her mission in life, passed down from her grandfather to his sons-to her father, then to her…his only child, was a simple one. Hunt down the Dark Ones. She'd been taught about them. How the demons came and forced themselves upon their world in a game. As if they were mere animals to simply be hunted for the fun of it. She'd heard stories of the ways they would kill their prey, and how they would take trophies back…much as a man would hunt a deer and mount the head upon the wall.

She knew it was only a matter of time before she would be called upon to face one of the Dark Ones herself. A true test of her self-worth in life. If she could survive a dark one, and claim its head as her own…then she would have the respect she deserved from her family, showing that she too was just as well off as any of the other males were. That she could fight and live for the glory of it. She leaned forward, sliding her hands out along the floor before her until she could press her forehead against it. She remained in a bowed position until she felt it was time to get up. She'd heard reports of a Dark Ones pet roaming the lands near her. Wherever their pets went, they were sure to follow. She stood up and crossed the room to another one, opening the door to display an impressive rack of weaponry. No guns. She preferred knives and things she could operate with her own hands. She selected her father's katana which he'd left for her in his will…along with the rest of the arsenal. Then she collected the silver set of shuriken along with their holsters. Tonight she would hunt. Tonight she would claim her honor and self-worth. Tonight she would kill a dark one.

Li-an Chen was not afraid. She was prepared for what could come of her actions. Death, perhaps. She accepted that. Death did not mean defeat. Reclaiming her honor. She would not be a fool to blindly rush in and assume that she would get that far. Not many came back triumphant after an encounter with a Dark One. Many did not seek out their presence. She headed back to her room and fished out a box from the small corner of her closet. Inside was the fighting suit she would wear on her first hunt of a Dark One. It was made of a durable material and hugged her frame closely—so that no fabric hung free to be used against her. She also had a lower face mask which hugged over her nose and her mouth snuggly, while leaving her upper face clear of distraction. She slipped into the body suit, slipping on a finger-less pair of gloves before strapping on her double katanas. One was located on her back while the other was located at her side. Her shuriken holster went around her left thigh as she was left handed, and she pinned her braid up in a loop so that less of it would fly around freely. Her outfit was black with bits of gold and red, her family colors. On her back was the image of a Phoenix. The symbolic animal of her clan, which she would honor tonight with her hunt. She padded quietly out of the house and into the night in search of her prey. The Dark Ones pet.

**Author's End Note: I apologize for the long aft delay of getting this chapter out. I also apologize for the fact that it's short…and yes….New characters. Please be nice with your reviews. I really am not in the mood for people to chew me out for my horrible writing skills. Thanks to Khalthar for his beta-ing. **


	3. Change of Plans

**Author's Note/Disclaimer: **I want to apologize for the delay. It's been crazy with life and if you've looked at some of my other stories…you know why. So, I recently realized I really hadn't given this story any love…and when I started thinking on it again…I realized it has SO much more potential than what I'm giving it right now. So here's to hoping this chapter sates you a little bit~ Okay. Also, I don't own AvP. Yay~

**Chapter Three: Change of Plans**

So prom wasn't as exciting as everyone made it out to be, and Elizabeth was pretty sure the DJ was stoned. She had her arms crossed under her chest and was watching as most couples just sat around, drinking punch and bullshitting. The gym was tackily decorated as well and she wasn't impressed in the slightest by it. The theme? She didn't even know if there really was a theme for this year's prom. How about 'How badly can we suck and still over-charge them'? That would've worked great. A few people were swaying in the glittering lights tossed down from some retro disco ball strapped up in the center of the gym as it twirled slowly. She could see her friend Terra and her date Tommy slow dancing too, but not many people were into the dance scene. She had to admit, her friend looked really good.

"Punch?" Damien's voice cut in. He looked pretty good in a tuxedo, but he was actually socially awkward with her about what to do. It turned out he wasn't a good dancer at all. He'd stepped on Liz's foot three times already and she was now saving it from anymore torment and from the possibility of being broken in the near future. Damien kept eye-balling other girls as well, so Liz knew he wanted to be with them instead of her. Why ask her out then to begin with?

"No thank you…look, I'm not going to dance anymore so if you'd like to go check for another dance partner I wouldn't-," she started and he was gone just like that, so she muttered the rest," mind." She sighed before going to sit down at an empty table with the chair. Man, this was boring. She sighed, getting up and deciding she should just head home after all. This so wasn't worth it. She watched Terra giggle loudly as her date whispered something in her ear. They were grinding pretty close for just a slow dance. She shook her head before heading out of the gym, passing couples who were making out in the halls as she headed for the exit. A large shadow running across the slightly open entrance to the pools caught her attention and she frowned before going to investigate. Her heels clicked in the silence, echoing ominously as she pushed the door further open. The smell of chlorine stung her nostrils but there was another smell in there. It was a familiar scent. She made it into the large room with the pool and listened. She had gotten pretty far away from the gym where the prom was being hosted and she could hear quiet grunting and a soft but steady bumping sound. Maybe it was two seniors just having some rough and tumble sex? But sex didn't smell like that…like something was dying?

A hand shot out and grabbed her ankle as she stepped into the locker room where one of the lights was flickering and hanging from the ceiling as it'd been disturbed. She screamed, jerking back and away as she stared down at the ground. It was a girl in a pretty silver dress with blonde ringlets framing her face. She was crawling towards Elizabeth, gasping for something and seeming to choke on a red foamy froth that spilled from her mouth. Liz backed further away and bumped into something slimy on the wall before whirling around and her eyes widened in horror. It looked like the blonde's date had met a tragic end. Something had speared him into the wall and left him there to die. There was a cracking sound and Elizabeth slowly turned to look at the blonde who had stopped moving. Something burst out of her chest and slithered across the room away from Elizabeth who screamed loudly. No. No….no. She sank to her knees, cradling her now throbbing head. The therapist had said this was a side-effect. She was hallucinating now, just like she had in the mall. It had to be. This wasn't real. None of this was real. She couldn't breathe and the world was suddenly swimming. She didn't know what to do now. Her chest hurt and she forced herself to inhale loudly and it relieved some of the problems.

* (scene change) *

"wait…wait~" Terra squealed as Tommy's hands disappeared up her dress. She giggled loudly, feeling slightly cramped in the backseat of his mustang with him on top of her. He gave her an almost annoyed look as his fingers slowly found their way to her underwear. "nnnngh, Waaaaaaiiii~," Her head hit the seat as she jerked into an arch with a hiss of air when his fingers slowly found their way in.

"I don't want to wait…I want to go now. You've made me wait all night and dance with you and I just want to get all inside of you," Tommy told her honestly as he stroked with quick jerks of his thumb in her center while two fingers slid inside. "I've got protection…you've been leading me on aaaaall week for this moment… I want to enjoy it." He smirked as he began undoing his buckle and his zipper. He got no further than that as something thumped the driver's window. They both sat up and he removed his fingers from her. "What the hell was that?"

"Does it matter?" Terra whined, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him back to her as he moved to climb to the front seat. He peered out the window and then went to open the front door. Something yellow sprung through the air and latched onto him tightly, like a venus-fly trap for the human face. It locked its spindly legs around his face and its tail tightened around his throat. Terra opened her mouth to scream as another yellow-y thing leapt into the car with the first. It missed her and she scrambled out and over Tommy to get outside. "HOLY SHIT~!" She screamed, taking off bare-footed across the campus parking lot and into the building again with her heart pounding in her chest. She slammed the double doors behind her and took deep breaths, trying to think. Those things from the mall were back…but how? "Oh no…Mr. Kitty…you didn't…." She trailed off, biting her bottom lip nervously as she realized she might have been the cause for this. Well, that was done and over with. Now she just had to deal with the actual problem in itself. That would be getting rid of the problem itself. She needed Elizabeth for this. She raced down the hall and slid to bang into a locker as she saw one of the alien-cats from previous encounter pacing down the hallway towards her. "OH SHIT!" She squeaked and took off running the opposite way, knowing that thing was after her now. She couldn't believe it. Her school was now being over-run with the damn creatures. All she wanted to do was enjoy one night of prom with some low-key sex. Was that too much to ask for? She squeaked again, trying to change direction way too fast and landed on her butt as an alien was now in front of her. "Uh, nice demon kitty…." She trailed off as its lips quivered and slowly peeled back, a nice glob of sticky drool splattered on her bare foot as she stared Death in its face. Man, it never looked so ugly-Until she was suddenly flying backwards as something grabbed her bodily around her waist and took off with her. Something extremely warm, almost burning to the touch and she watched as the alien suddenly burst into pieces as it exploded.

"Are you okay?" the familiar voice of Vis'chus inquired of her albeit a little muffled sounding as she was set down on to her feet. She slowly turned to examine the very empty hallway with a frown.

"Wait…are you invisible?" She asked and heard a chuckle as there was a weird shimmering in the air that fell away to reveal the Vis'chus she remembered from before. "OH MAN!" She shrieked excitedly and clung to him in a hug, noting that he was definitely a hotter temperature than she remembered. "dude…why are you all nova here?" She smiled, remembering that nice set of abs he had. Vis'chus cocked his head curiously to one side, obviously not knowing what she meant. "Like…your skin…is really hot to the touch…" He held up his hand before him and muttered something that sounded like a curse.

"Looks like I'm about to molt," he responded sounding rather tense about it. She giggled, remembering the trouble with his brother and her best friend thanks to the molt.

"Like, not that I'm NOT glad to see you…but why are you here?" She demanded," Is your brother here?"

"Ay…and his student, Ph'ury. That would be Mh'dur's youngest born son," Vis'chus told her with a soft chuckle," We're here because we're responding to the obvious pest problem you've developed….Why are you dressed like that?" He tilted his head the other way and she put a hand on her hip.

"It's Prom Night," she replied off-handedly and shook her head," I bet this is Mr. Kitty's fault…He ran away one night and wouldn't come back home."

"Mr…..Kitty?" Vis'chus questioned, seeming confused.

"My pet…from the mall," She said innocently and he slapped his hand to his mask.

"We're going to have to have a discussion on pets with you later," Vis'chus growled before heading off. She followed him and kept up.

"So what's the plan?" She asked and he shook his head, "You can't tell me? ….OOoooooh, I'm not supposed to be involved with you right now am I?" He nodded and put a finger up to his mask as if to tell her to be quiet now. She nodded and merely looked around them.

"We're going to get rid of your problem here with these pests and see what can be done about making sure they don't come back like this…unfortunately, we may have to blow up the school," Vis'chus pointed out and Terra cheered.

"No school, yes. I'm TOTALLY liking this plan already~" She was excited and her eyes danced with mischief that Vis'chus ignored. He could see on his scanner that Rh'vage and Ph'ury were still together—no wait…now they were separated. How had that one happened? Had Ph'ury given his brother the slip?

* (Scene change) *

The younger unblooded Yautja was excited as he could possibly be. He'd never been to the ooman planet before nor had he gotten a chance to even hunt the hard-meats, but now was his chance. He almost ran into Rh'vage who turned to give him a look in which he sheepishly rubbed at the back of his head. He was much smaller than them because he still had some growing to do. Vis'chus told him not to worry too much about his size right now, because apparently Rh'vage had taken time to really develop too and his mentor was a true beast of physicality. He'd yet to take any prospective mates even though several Yautja females had made their attentions known to him. Mh'dur had been much the same way. He felt a slight pang in his chest because he missed his mother more than he wanted to admit. He wanted to be a strong warrior, not a young pup who needed his hand held every step of the way. Rh'vage was scanning the area in what Ph'ury was certain had been called a school. There schools were much different than his were for sure.

"Alright, here's the plan—," Rh'vage started and was suddenly tackled by something very large and gray The two went tumbling and crashed into the wall on the other side, crumpling the thin metal sheets that were on the walls. Papers seemed to explode out of them and littered the hallways all around them. Ph'ury noticed his scanners picking up more motion and fully extended his claws on his wrist attachment in eagerness. A hard-meat approached him gracefully from down the other side of where Rh'vage was disposing of his attacker only to be leapt on by a second one from the ceiling above them. Well that was fine, Rh'vage could take care of himself… Ph'ury had this one. He dashed towards it, and was attacked from the side by something. He ended up crashing through the wall and the mortar blocks that composed the wall broke apart as he crashed into some desks that didn't support the combined weight. He kept his hands up in between him and his attacker which saved him from having his brains pierced by that second mouth that shot out repeatedly at him in an attempt to end him. He'd never fought this monster before and he could understand why it was considered a worthy adversary. He struggled, trying to get the creature off of him as a second one slowly approached them. Well, this wasn't how he intended to go down. He was going to be successful at this. He activated his shoulder cannon remotely from his helmet and fired a warning shot at the second creature, which leapt back with a hiss and a violent tail swish to avoid the blast that tore through the floor. His shoulder cannon was suddenly destroyed by the creature on top of him, who he still couldn't get off of him. His scanners were detecting that Rh'vage was moving away from him, and he was being pursued by more of the beasts. It looked like he was going to have to use what limited training he really had now to figure a way out of this one or he wasn't going to make it back home in one piece.

"HYAA~!" Something in a light voice suddenly shouted out and there was a whirling of something metal that sliced through the head of his aggressor and Ph'ury quickly shoved and rolled away from it to avoid the acidic nature of the blood as it ate through the desk. He was up and on his feet to see that the second hard-meat had been disposed of as well in a similar manner. His scanner was acting up now and he found himself staring at—nothing. His scanners were barely detecting anything but he knew someone was there, just barely. It was an ooman but the body heat was much lower, as if it were being concealed by something. It was a smaller ooman and he thought it might be a female. It had weapons that his system rapidly switched through to identify for him. Katanas…and shurikens? "I've killed your pets, Dark one…Now we may fight and I shall claim the honor of my people." The voice taunted him, it was low and soft but rolled out smooth with an odd dialect at the way the words were pronounced as if English were not the native tongue of this ooman.

"uh…Thanks?" he asked and made a small gesture at the hard-meats, "I totally could've handled that myself you know, but not bad for an ooman?" He was pretty sure this wasn't a normal reaction for an ooman, he'd studied them after all in some classes and supposedly they feared him… He could detect no traces of fear in the air, minus his own from earlier. Suddenly a shuriken flashed through the air and buried itself into his shoulder. "THE PAUK?!" He roared in anger and went to pull it out but had to fend off a katana with his claws. Pauk, this ooman was strong for one so small. Though he knew better than to estimate strength based on just size. He briefly wondered how her katana hadn't melted in the acidic blood and realized it was coated with something, but what? Suddenly there was a flare of bright heat from where her hand flicked towards his visor and he was blinded as everything turned white briefly and something sliced across his stomach, drawing blood. He tumbled back, trying to escape this ooman who was now hunting him. The hunter had become the hunted…This so wasn't right. He blindly flung a desk chair in her general direction and heard a thud and a grunt, so he knew he'd struck her off-guard. His vision was slowly re-adjusting but now she had the advantage as he hurried out into the hallway again. This wasn't right. He tried to contact Rh'vage or even Vis'chus but that ooman had done something to his helmet. He felt the disturbance of air before a few more of the sharp pointed stars embedded into the flesh of his back. He didn't want to kill her, because he was being taught about honor and things like that…and his classes hadn't quite covered the chapter on ooman interaction when they tried killing you. Normally you tried to disarm them and then leave them alone if they didn't go after you again. He didn't think this was going to be the case here.

"You run. Are you a coward?" The husky female voice echoed down the hall, having a weird wraith-like effect on him. He wasn't even a full-blooded warrior yet. He'd yet to go on his first chiva so this wasn't even fair. Maybe Rh'vage had been right, he should've just stayed on the ship and tried to fix the cannon. That would've been better than being killed by a crazy ooman female who wasn't even that big. But the way she moved spoke of years of training and some experience. She handled herself adeptly much like a warrior would and she spoke of honor to him. "Perhaps you should face me, like a worthy adversary would. I will hunt you down and make you pray before your own judgment claims you rightfully so." He ducked into a classroom and disappeared into a closet, making sure to shut it behind him before she caught up. She was taking her time, like a cat chasing a mouse when they knew there was no escape. He waited, listening as she approached and then she seemed to stop near him. Okay, think Ph'ury think. What would a blooded warrior do in this situation? Not hide in a closet for sure. He carefully opened the closet to peer outside for her and froze. She was right near him with her back to him. Okay, he had this. He kicked the door open, clipping her hard and rushed off past her and back down the hall. He heard her snarl before the sounds of soft tapping on the ground informed him that she was chasing him. Where was Rh'vage when you needed him?

"I don't want to FIGHT you!" He shouted back at her," I haven't even REACHED that chapter of the training book, trust me!" He dashed past a confused looking ooman in a tighter top with very short hair that covered one eye. Her dress was short in the front but long in the back to free her legs he supposed for running. Nice. The ooman chasing him stopped having seen the one in the dress.

"You've been marked," the ooman who was nearly invisible to him hissed pointing her weapon at the defenseless ooman who was definitely younger. He slowly turned and did a quick scan. Yeah, she was right. That ooman in the dress-wear had the mark of her first successful chivia upon her back. So, she was an accomplished warrior. He'd heard stories of ooman like this.

"…My life sucks," the one with short hair suddenly muttered just as two hard-meats came crashing through the ceiling. The shorter one with the katana went up into a fighting position, facing off with one of the hard-meats who took an interest in her. The other one went after Ph'ury: Naturally.

*(scene change)*

Li-an didn't know why the Dark One fled from her. Surely the stories of their great powers were not exaggerated. She knew they hunted her own kind and used them for their sick games—much like what was going on here tonight at this high school. She'd tracked its pets down and stopped it from being taken out by one, so that she could finish it off…only to have it flee from her. Fine, if she had to hunt it down then she would. She'd given chase to it while it shouted things at her about training and classes, so maybe it wasn't a warrior like the ones she'd heard about. It was a start at least. She'd stopped when she'd spotted one of the high school teenagers step out from a classroom in formal wear. It must've been prom night judging by her outfit. The female's eyes were haunting as if she'd seen death and been sent back from it unwillingly. Her hair was short and clipped with bangs that covered the left eye. Her skin was much too white, as if she avoided the sun. She was only slightly taller than Li-an was, but much, much younger. The most significant thing about it was the mark of the Dark One upon her that claimed she was aligned with them and had completed one of their challenges. She hissed angrily, pointing her sword at the younger female.

"You've been marked," Li-an accused her. The other one looked a little confused as to what she meant.

"…My life sucks," She muttered, icy blue eyes going to the ceiling as two of the Dark One's pets crashed through. One of them immediately took off towards the Dark One she'd been pursuing while the other went after her. She backed up, getting room to fight it as it stalked after her. It made a slow circle of her while she kept her weapon posed between it and herself, watching it for any movements. Its tail flicked from side to side eagerly, as if it couldn't wait to destroy her. The Dark Ones pets were dangerous creatures with two forms. The first form kept itself inside an odd egg and seemed to be some kind of mixture of a spider and a scorpion that would attach to its host's face to transfer itself inside of them until it became the second phase where it would burst free of the hosts chest—successfully killing them to become what now faced her. The second inner jaw flicked out in a snapping gesture as if to try to startle her but Li-an remained focused, keeping her center of balance low so she could roll out of the way if the thing charged her suddenly. She had one hand on the sword, keeping it angled between them from above tilted towards the ground and the other up ready to grab the blade or to switch to a shuriken if necessary. The thing hissed at her, seeming to crouch and build itself for an attack. It lunged and she ducked, rolling out of the way and popped back up to maintain the same pose as from before. The creature hissed at her and continued to circle her as she slowly turned to keep herself protected from it. There was another hissing sound and she realized there was another one slowly creeping up from behind her. Damn. It lunged at the same time as the other one and she hit the ground going prone as they crashed into each other and started fighting each other over which one got her. She scrambled out from them and back up into the fighting position as they seemed to come to the mutual agreement to work together. They turned back on her, their tails wiggling with anticipation again. A desk chair suddenly bounced off one of the creature's heads and it hissed, whirling on its new aggressor… The female from earlier who took off into the classroom again as the thing went after her, leaving Li-an to take care of this one before her.

She evened her breathing out, analyzing the entire situation. Her blade was coated in some type of substance her father had left her for fighting the pets of the Dark One because they had an acidic blood type that made them a formidable opponent. Her outfit was made of a unique fabric as well that regulated her body heat to block it from the Dark One's scanners to pick up. It also made limited noise and provided for maximum range in motion. She flicked her blade towards the creature and it hissed, snapping at her with its second set of jaws but didn't attack her. She did it again to provoke the same reaction before slicing the second jaw completely off. The creature shrieked in pain, withering and smashing its head against the steel lockers as acidic blood pumped out of its own mouth. It jerked around a few times before whirling to face her and charged her, catching her slightly off-guard as she had to flip over it, using the top of its smooth head to accomplish that. Its tail caught her ankle though and she was slammed into a nearby set of lockers as the thing whirled back on her, sensing victory-until a strange blue burst of fire seemed to completely take it out. She remained where she was, keeping very still as another one of the Dark Ones seemed to materialize from thin air. It knelt beside its pet and seemed to examine it before glancing in her direction. She could tell from the way it seemed to slowly examine the area that it couldn't quite locate her but knew she was there. She wasn't invisible to them; she was just better cloaked than the average human was. She remained still, knowing that was her safest bet to not getting caught by it. This was the warrior she wanted to take out. This one was much larger than the first, and definitely wiser by far, a formidable and worthy adversary. She gritted her teeth as she realized she'd lost her katana when the tail had snagged her and the Dark One suddenly picked it up to examine it as if interested in it.

Her left shoulder pained her but she ignored it, knowing she'd possibly dislocated it. It would be painful to return to the regular position but she could do it herself. She remained focused on the Dark One before her even as one its pets slinked down the hall from the opposite direction she was looking. It was originally after the Dark One but spotted her as an easier target. She slowly moved just her eyes to look at it, knowing the Dark One had seen it. She had her second sword on her back and she realized the thing would get to her before the Dark One interfered so she forced herself to get up and undid her katana. Her left arm was useless and it was her dominant arm, but she could still use her right one properly. She raised the sword, keeping her center of balance low. The Dark One wouldn't attack her yet, she knew this to be true from the stories. That was their downfall, the weakness she would exploit to no end. The creature hissed at her, lunging forward and backing away as if to test her again.

"Come and get me," She taunted it and it leapt at her, forcing her to slide quickly to the side. It slammed into the lockers and shook its head before whirling around to face her. Her blood was coursing through her veins quickly and she felt exhilarated to be doing what she loved to most of all…not killing per say…but hunting. That was what her family lived for. To hunt. To become better than that which you hunted. That was why the Dark Ones were considered the ultimate hunt for them. She waited for it to lunge again and dropped to her knees as she thrust the sword upwards to impale the beast—using its own momentum to toss it aside. She yanked her sword back out and watched as the acidic blood dipped off to the ground and was completely clear of the blade. She kept the sword out and turned to the Dark One who had yet to move before entering a fighting stance to face him. "I have come to claim my kill of your kind." She stated slowly and it didn't move, it just watched her as if it were listening to her or thinking on the matter, "

I will have your head as my trophy before the night is up." It merely inclined its head to her before it cloaked again. Her eyes quickly scanned the area to look for it. Had it left her? Was it going to fight her? Was it fleeing? Cunning. Perhaps it would just stab her in the back to get rid of her while she went looking for it. She slowly approached the area it had last been, keeping her blade at the ready to take it down—until something connected with the back of her head and she was out of the count.

*(Scene change)*

Throwing a desk chair at some demonic mutant creatures that looked like cats… was probably not the smartest thing Elizabeth had decided on in the past week. The thing turned to her and now she knew she had to run or be killed. She'd had to cope with some severe headaches as locked away memories from therapy sessions came clean in her head. The mall that had been blown up because of this hunt from theYautja and the weird alien-creatures that had claimed the lives of several people including her friend Daniel, but they had somehow survived it all. The government officials who'd shown up had been extremely interested in knowing what had happened. Terra had been easily dismissed because of her crazy behavior anyways, but they were more interested in Elizabeth's side of the story. She'd given them a lose version of it because they tried to tell her a gas explosion had gone off and she'd probably hallucinated some things. They were interested in her hallucinations and had her believing they were just that. They had her on medications and she'd soon locked away the memories of what had happened. But they'd all come back in a matter of seconds and she knew she'd been lied to as a cover story…so these things were back and she KNEW just KNEW Terra had to be involved in this stuff. So she was trying to find Terra in the chaos when she'd come across one of the Yautja. She didn't recognize him as any of the three she'd met at the mall but he'd been fleeing from a woman who looked like a freaking ninja. Then they'd been attacked by the alien creatures and she'd decided to intervene.

"Man…This is sooo not my lucky day," She grumbled as she ducked into a vent and climbed along. The vent was too small for the alien creatures to come after her, had to be. She was more worried about the face-hugger versions than anything as she climbed out into another room and was suddenly tackled. She screamed loudly until she realized it was Terra…and Vis'chus? Terra let her go and gave her a look-over. "What did you do?"

"What?" Terra questioned and Elizabeth narrowed her eyes accusingly, "Oh… yeah… I kept one of them as a pet…and it kinda got out…and yeah… We're going to clean this up, okay?" Elizabeth shook her head and looked over at Vis'chus with a curious expression. "His brother's here too, they are on clean-up duty…and get this. Rh'vage is a mentor to Ph'ury whose apparently Mh'dur's like youngest son or something…. Cool huh?"

"No…Not cool Terra. You've ruined prom night and possibly caused a significant drop in the number of seniors that will actually graduate here," Elizabeth snapped at her, hands on her hips. "Do you even THINK before you do something stupid?" Terra looked sheepish, and was clutching one of her arms with the other across her front.

"…sometimes?" She questioned with an innocent look that had her asking for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to regroup with my brother and his student," Vis'chus cut in, tapping on his wrist console to bring up a blue-print of the school that was crawling with the alien cat-demons. "…We're going to have to blow up the school…This is where I'm supposed to set up my detonator and this indicator is where Rh'vage was supposed to set up his… He's closer to my location…so he's going to put it there…and then I have to set mine up…so we can regroup and get out of here… I don't believe there were any survivors." He seemed slightly apologetic to them about it but Elizabeth was still glaring at Terra who still looked sheepish. "ENOUGH!" He snapped at both of them, "Now, you two are more familiar with this building than I am… Get me….here." He indicated the map which they both studied.

"That's the chemistry lab," Elizabeth informed him and pointed at the other location, "and that one would be the music room at the other side of the school… So… you need to go down this corridor…and then through here…aaaand…that's the cafeteria…where…it looks like the hive is located…" She shook her head, indicating the massive swarm of hard-meats that were blinking from there. They all whirled around as the door suddenly burst open but it was just Ph'ury who gave them a small wave. He looked like he'd been roughed up and he had some shiny silver shurikens poking out of his backside that looked rather painful.

"What happened to you?" Vis'chus grunted, going over to examine and pluck the stars out with curiosity. Ph'ury winced but didn't protest.

"This crazy ooman woman attackd me…she kept talking about some hunt for me…and then she was interrupted by the hard-meats…and Rh'vage showed up to take care of them…and she was facing him off last I was aware of before I was attacked by more…I just barely made it away alive," the young Yautja mumbled, seeming put-off. Vis'chus clapped a hand to the smaller ones shoulder.

"Do not worry…You have much training ahead of you still. You've done well thus far to still be alive," Vis'chus pointed and nodded towards the two females present, "These oomans are excellent allies from our previous adventure upon this planet…This is Terra, and this is Elizabeth."

"Call me Liz," Elizabeth offered with a scowl at Terra who was still looking guilty. "We've got a pest problem to take care of. You can come with us to plant that last detonator…since we have more of those ugly alien-cats to forage through…Rh'vage has a pretty easy path for himself. Then we need to regroup and get the heck out of here." She was very clipped sounding as if expecting him to follow her orders like she was a blooded warrior—which technically she was. He hefted a slight sigh before inclining his head in acceptance of her role. He wondered if the other one was marked like this one was and wouldn't have been too surprised to find out she was.

"Alright," Vis'chus murmured in what sounded like amusement as they headed off, following the pathway Elizabeth had drawn out for them to follow. He realized the two ooman females weren't armed but he and Ph'ury could provide enough cover for them. He would do them the honor of protecting them once again to get them out of here in a safe piece. That's until their plans were ruined by the appearance of government agents who tried to capture the females against their will. Vis'chus and Ph'ury had cloaked effectively and were insisted by Elizabeth to blow the school to hell and get rid of all the pests as they were dragged off by two rather impressively armed and protected men. Elizabeth knew they were testing their luck as they were led to a vehicle and tossed in with little regard to their safety. A man climbed into the van with them and leveled a weapon at their heads.

"…We have to cover this all up… You do realize that?" He pointed out and gave a slight shrug, "No survivors, no witnesses—" A sudden explosion knocked him off balance as the school was suddenly torn into pieces. Elizabeth was quick to bail from the back of the van past the guy with Terra right after her. Shouts rang out and suddenly someone was firing at them as they entered the woods. They were being pursued but not for long as the men were taken out systematically as if someone was just picking them off in a very bored mannerism. She slammed hard against something extremely hot to the touch and was reminded of when she'd first come across Rh'vage. She fell onto her rear-end and blinked as Vis'chus decloaked with Ph'ury beside him, who had a smug pose. Terra wasn't too far behind her and slowed to a slight walk before stopping and panting.

"…Sorry…There's been a change of plans," Vis'chus murmured to her and suddenly scooped her up and flung her over his shoulder.

"HEY! PUT ME DOWN!" Elizabeth shrieked, kicking and struggling against him. He started walking and Terra followed them. He knew Elizabeth would put up the most struggle against this, but he'd already hacked several sources to find out that Elizabeth and Terra were being targeted by the U.S. government to be terminated if they were found. They weren't safe here any longer and he was making the executive decision to take them back with him. They'd proven themselves as adequate warriors and it wasn't entirely unheard of for Yautja to have ooman pets who proved themselves. He didn't think Rh'vage would entirely protest either and he'd just gotten a message from Mh'dur who was now boarded onto the ship and waiting for them. Rh'vage had left him a short clipped message that he had an issue they were going to have to deal with on the ship, and they needed to get off the planet now. He hurried to their ship with Terra and Ph'ury following. Ph'ury was still confused as to why they were taking the oomans with them. You didn't keep living trophies as far as he was aware. Maybe things had changed, after all…He had yet to complete all his training.

**END NOTE: **Sorry for the delay. Here's another chapter and I'm working on the next one okay~ Sorry if it seems roughly written, I wanted to give you guys something to chew on while I work on the other chapter which has a HECK of a lot more stuff going on in it… More stuff will be explained… I'm not dead… Review as usual, my lovelies to let me know you are still reading this story… Um…. Cookies? *offers them* And thanks Khalthar for being the beta to this story.

**EDIT: **Alright. I AM sorry for the like 10 month delay almost a YEAR delay in this story. My apologies… Um, Chapter Four is done and being edited now as I type this little edit at the end of this thing for you… Chapter five is in the process of being written as well. Just letting you know… I haven't died… Honestly…. That's IF ANYONE still is hanging onto this story….


	4. The Lion's Den

**Disclaimer: I don't own as was and should've been pointed out during chapter one somewhere and the three chapters before this one. **

**Author's Note: **Hey my loves~ Told you I was back. I'm not THAT evil to vanish for a long time, post a chapter….vanish for even longer. Chapter Five is in the works as this one sat in the computer while I posted chapter three because I said I was going to post this chapter TWO days after I posted Chapter three-maybe shortened that to just a day depending on if I got any reviews or anything. This one is MUCH longer than the other one. Hope you guys enjoy it. MUCH MUCH thanks to Khalthar again for his beta skills…and for keeping me entertained when I decide to just BOMBARD him with story ideas…Seriously, How DOES that guy put up with me.

Khalthar's comment: Sure she has a lot of ideas, but they are very few compared to how many my Plot Demons bombard me with… besides, most of hers makes sense, a lot of the ones my Plot Demons come up with just will NOT work!

**WARNING: **Hey~ I did say I'd place warnings up right on chapters that tended to DO something… There isn't anything ACTUALLY done in here…There are some SEXUAL implications implied…plus some DISCUSSION on said sexual themes…so if you aren't FAMILIAR with fore-play or oral gratification to the male populace…I'm sorry, go get edge-u-mu-cah-ted~ as my instructors use to tell me. *winks*

**Chapter Four: The Lion's Den**

Li-an came back to alertness to find herself tied up with her arms behind her. They were held tight enough that she couldn't even wiggle them free. There were twin manacles linked together on her arms, which then linked to the larger metal piece that surrounded her stomach much like a belt and prevented her from moving them at all. She was lying on her side as if she'd been set down here. The last thing she remembered was going after the Dark one before it cloaked itself and vanished from her sight.

Now she was on some kind of metal floor that was warm against her cheek. The air felt warm and…humid. She slowly opened her eyes and realized someone was waiting for her to wake up. A Dark One with no battle mask on. He was kneeling with clawed hands resting on his lap. She grunted from stiffness and rolled so she was in a similar kneeling position to face him. It was a pose where one could rock back onto their heels and stand up quickly with no hand assistance required. The Dark One said nothing and had his eyes closed with a calm rise and fall of his chest in rested breathing. She knew he wasn't sleeping though and that he was older than the two she'd come across. All her weapons were missing too, and her face cover had been pulled down and was bunched under chin. She didn't know why though. The air felt strange to her as well. She let herself rest, calming her body and mind while feeling the effect her surroundings had upon her. Her left shoulder was sore but had been recently realigned. Her almond eyes refocused on his to find golden eyes trained upon her. His mandibles moved slightly as he inclined her head towards her offering a silent greeting. He was waiting for her to speak.

"Where are my weapons?" She finally decided on. She thought he almost appeared amused by her question and glared at him.

"Your weapons are safely stowed away in the armory," he informed her and it startled her to realize he spoke proper English even though the pronunciations were a little odd.

"Are you going to kill me?" She snarled at him.

"…only if you give me reason to," He replied calmly and raised a hand towards her in an open gesture, "Consider this a chance to start fresh. You attacked my son…and challenged a previous student of mine. The only reason you are not dead…is because you also saved my son and a defenseless ooman with your actions. My name is Mh'dur."

"Fitting," she hissed coldly at him and his mandibles flared slightly in what she took to be agitation.

"I will make this simple enough for you. Continue on with your previous path and I will personally kill you…agree to listen to me and follow through with what I explain to you…and you shall live," he stated simple and her expression was a sour one. She mulled over the proposition silently. She wasn't a fool to rush blindly off and she was raised with an open mind. She finally gave a small nod of her head.

"I will hear you out," she murmured and was surprised by the rumbling purr that permeated the air for a few seconds.

"Good. I know of your goal and your quest but it is ill conceived," he informed her, "Not all Yautja deserve to be hunted…just like not all oomans are tracked down. It is the hunt that appeals to you the most, correct?" she didn't say anything so he continued on, "You are trained well for a warrior. You merely lack solid guidance. You require a patient mentor to guide you in the advanced stages of becoming a blooded warrior…unfortunately you do not have your Chiva under your belt…usually the hunting of hardmeats is good enough and you have proven adept in handling them yourself but that was not the objective of your hunt."

"So it doesn't count," she murmured in quiet realization as she caught on. He gave a slight nod. "Very well, how do I prove myself?" She liked a challenge.

"Merely through training and completing your own chiva…as well as the collection of trophies," he informed her before standing up, "Not all Yautja are good either, we call those who've wandered into the path of evil…Bad-bloods, and they are to be hunted down and killed." She watched him suspiciously. "I am going to free you from your restraints now…but there will be consequences to any ill-behavior aboard this ship. You are a guest here…I will be taking up your mentorship. Rh'vage is in charge of this ship with his brother Vis'chus. I expect you to listen to them…If you question one of their commands, come to me about it. Your weapons will stay in the armory." She gave a slight nod as she was suddenly released and she took the time to stretch her stiff limbs. Mh'dur waited until she was done before leading her on a tour of the ship.

* (scene change) *

Rh'vage was waiting calmly for the temper-tantrum to stop. Elizabeth was against going to their home world even though the ship was already on a course set for it. Terra had been trying to calm Elizabeth down and had finally given up on it. Vis'chus had taken Ph'ury to the medical room to have his wounds treated. He wished Mh'dur wasn't with the other strange ooman and could deal with this because he couldn't right now.

"You can't just KIDNAP people!" Elizabeth yelled at him and he merely remained seated in his chair looking impassive. Terra was seated in Vis'chus's usual chair, watching her friend turn red in the face. Terra had to admit the air felt a little harder to breath…like if you suddenly went up a mountain. It wasn't thinner per say, but she had a feeling they weren't getting enough oxygen in their brains. Elizabeth tossed her hands into the air in an angry gesture, starting to feel a little light-headed. That didn't stop her charade or her pacing until her vision suddenly swam and her knees buckled. Thick arms encircled her and helped her sit on the floor propped against one of the flight consoles on board. Rh'vage sent an alert to Vis'chus just in case as he watched Elizabeth suck in air or attempt to. He titled his head in slight confusion and glanced at Terra who was a little slumped in Vis'chus's chair.

"Here," Vis'chus said, suddenly appearing with Ph'ury, holding some kind of device that went into the mouth with a small filter attachment. The gauge was in reverse to what went in his own helmet but he gave it to Elizabeth who placed it in her mouth and started taking deep breaths through it. She seemed much more alert and held the device in one hand now as she got up. "I should've realized the atmosphere change and oxygen concentrations…"

"Oxygen deprived brains…wooo," Terra said and placed the breather back into her mouth for a second inhale," You need to get us some kind of face mask that'll work with these so we can still talk…" Ph'ury clicked his fingers together excitedly and glanced at Rh'vage for permission.

"Go ahead," Rh'vage said and Ph'ury hurried off to work on the task at hand.

"Well…I could really use a shower," Terra mumbled and looked down at her dress, "And some new clothes…." Rh'vage and Vis'chus glanced at each other.

"I will check with Mh'dur," Vis'chus murmured quietly before leaving them.

"Are you done?" Rh'vage asked Elizabeth who had a hand to her face with her eyes shut tightly. He could make out a tear as it made its way down her cheek to drip off to the ground.

"There's no going back is there?" She murmured with a loud sniffle before wiping at her eyes angrily.

"No. There is not…The ooman government will have you killed. You cannot return to a normal life," Rh'vage told her in a gentle tone of voice. He glanced over and was startled to realize Terra had vanished. They were going to have to keep an eye on her at all times. He returned his attention to Elizabeth. "We can teach you…train you in our ways and you can live among us." She suddenly giggled and he caught a note of hysteria in it.

"Figured I'd go to a community college after high school," She murmured, "Now I'm a high school dropout…going to live on another planet to learn to be a hunter…Twisted future hunh?" She hiccupped suddenly and then started to laugh, hiccups breaking through the laughter. He wasn't entirely too sure what was funny but watched in mild concern as she struggled visibly to calm down. "Terra's right…We're going to need a shower and new clothes."

"…Vis'chus will check with Mh'dur and we'll see what we can come up with," Rh'vage replied insistently and she nodded, awarding him with a small smile.

*(Scene change)*

His skin was on fire and it itched like no end. Vis'chus had left, intending on getting Mh'dur when the first wave of the Molt took him over. He'd been experiencing the tell-tale signs accompanying the molt but he hadn't expected it to hit him so quickly. The molt affected each Yautja differently but with the same underlying concept: To mate. His skin was crawling and he sought out relief. He dug into the medicine cabinet for a sticky and very pungent plant stem which sap would help draw the heat from his flesh. He snapped the stalk, mandibles tucking in with repulsion at the strong odor. His eyes watered slightly as he began rubbing it over his arms, shoulder and chest. It was slowly working.

"So they do have 'oil' up scenes where you're from," Terra's voice teased him and he looked over to where she leaned against the doorframe of the medical bay. The sap did indeed leave a shiny residue that glistened on his skin much like 'oil' would as Terra was implying.

"Nonsense. This is a good remedy to leech out the heat of the molt,' Vis'chus replied and she giggled before coming over to him.

"Want me to get your back?" She offered him and he handed her the stalk. She made a face at the smell before rubbing it on his back. "Man you are a furnace," She mumbled, feeling the heat basking off him from where she was so close to him. She'd climbed up onto the table to reach his back and he turned to look at her.

"One of the many side effects," He replied with a half-shrug and froze as one of her hands caught a hold of one of his thick dreads. "Terra," he said in a very low growl, "Let that go." She did obediently but tilted her head curiously to the side. "These…are _very_ sensitive," He stressed out and the sudden heat to her face informed him that she understood. It didn't help that that single little action had shot straight through him to a certain member of his being that seemed to be straining for attention. He could last for now without any action but he had a feeling he was going to have to take care of it much sooner thanks the female oomans presences aboard the vessel. Terra slid to hop off the table and stumbled forward when she hit the ground wrong. Her hands were still low enough that her faced smacked against his chest but her hands hit the center of his loincloth—where she could feel something pulsing with great waves of heat. It was definitely large and she had a hunch what it was. Vis'chus had thrown up his hands to catch her and steady her but now they wrapped around her as a very loud purr filled the air. She could feel something tugging lightly at various sections of her hair and realized he was nuzzling her much like a cat would. She was being pressed against him and was unable to pull away from him. She could feel sweat starting to form upon her body and it slide down her back slowly.

"Vis'chus…are you horny?" She asked, unable to pull her face away from his chest so it came out muffled. She could feel the vibrations from his purr jarring straight through her.

"Yes. It's the molt," He murmured almost sheepishly as he let her go but was startled when her hand suddenly grasped his lower member through the loin cloth.

"You guys ARE humanoid~" She teased and sank to her knees before him, directing him to prop himself up on the table behind them.

"What are you about to do?" He inquired suspiciously.

"It's called a hand job where I'm from," She informed him, trying to figure out how to undo his covering. His hands caught her wrists, removing her from him.

"Then no," he stated, forcing her to stand back up, "You won't be doing that at all."

"But you'll like it~" She said with a little pout, "Unless you'd rather get a blow-job?" The terminology was lost on him.

"A what?" he questioned and she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"You know. Oral gratification where you use your mouth to-," She paused, cutting herself off as she watched his mandibles suddenly twitch, "Well…I guess you wouldn't use your mouth for that now would you. Do you even HAVE sex? I mean you have kids obviously." She crossed her arms under her chest to study him.

"Yes. We mate. It's a simple matter really. Molt hits, appendage goes into a ready female where a few thrusts are all that's necessary to implant seeds for young. Then it's done," he replied and she appeared shocked at him.

"You guys have sex just for kids?" You don't fuck for pleasure?" she questioned and he shook his head. "Holy shit…what are they teaching you? Sex is FUN! It's-Its…damn dude. I'm sorry but just DAMN. Really…so…about that blow-job," She smirked at him, "You're going to rethink that definition of sex soon…"

*(scene change)*

"My ship is docked and attached to this one as we travel. It's much smaller as it's merely a cruise vessel…This ship is medium-class being a science vessel for exploration and not a warship. Most of our hunters use these ships to explore and collect trophies," Mh'dur informed the smaller ooman woman as they walked down one of the corridors. He could tell she was thinking on what he was saying through and this pleased him. To have another student made him feel useful again. He could see she was patient and well in control of herself. She was cunning and not quick to speak or to act. Instead she had the mindset of an experienced warrior and her actions spoke of it. It would not be hard to train her in the smaller aspects, the ones that Terra and Liz were going to struggle on...balancing the mind and body. No, what the ooman—who had informed him her name was Li-an—would struggle most with was proper motive. She was an efficient killing machine but for the wrong reasons. Their pace was a slow luxurious one with no need to rush.

"What is in here?" She inquired quietly in her lower toned voice. He glanced to see what she was indicating.

"Ah, that is the navigation room with our star charts," he informed her before entering the room with her. The atmosphere in the room was much cooler than the other hall and it was completely dark. The door sealed behind them and she froze, unable to see anything. Suddenly the room exploded with little lights as a holographic star chart danced around the room. She peered curiously at a small planet that drifted past her face and glanced over to see Mh'dur watching her quietly.

"Where is our destination?" She inquired and he keyed in something before the map shifted around.

"It will take us approximately thirty of your earth days at our current rate of travel…as well as the fact that we must stop along the way," He informed her and watched as she slipped into a neutral, yet guarded facial expression.

"I see," She replied in a clipped manner as the star charts turned off, drenching her in darkness again. The door was opened and they resumed their walk. Her heart beat was continuing to speed up as they went and she was finding it harder to focus on anything. She stopped; pressing an arm to the wall as her vision suddenly swam before her. Sudden light-headiness caught her off guard. "Oxygen," she murmured, realizing what was off about the environment surrounding her. Mh'dur nodded once before stepping towards her.

"I'm going to carry you now," He informed her and she made a slight face, "I doubt you will get to our next location fast enough on your own." He scooped her up, marveling at how small she was again before heading off at a quick pace. Ph'ury's room was closer so he stepped in just as Ph'ury was about to come out.

"HERE!" Ph'ury said excitedly offering him a very small face mask. "For the oomans to breath, there's also a translator chip built in to make an easier conversion to our language when we reach our home world. The screen is a newer liquid-glass module that while dormant is stored in the lower portion of the mask before it becomes an eye shield for them. It can display similar readings like our systems but still needs some adjustments made to the systems…" Li-an reached for it, attaching it to her face. The darker metal piece covered her lower jaw and nose much like her fabric face guard did. The only difference was that this one latched around her ears and formed a seal within that she could suddenly breathe much more easily.

"Thank you," She murmured from where Mh'dur still held her in a bridal-style carry.

"No problem. It still needs to be tweaked though before it's really acceptable for like hunting and stuff but for now it'll work. To take it off, just press gently against the ear guards and it'll unhook," Ph'ury informed her, mandibles flaring with excitement as his new gadget and the possibility of helping others. "It's light-weight so it shouldn't slow you down much."

"…I am sorry for attacking you," Li-an said slowly, not used to apologizing to others for her actions.

"It's totally fine," Ph'ury said waving her off, "No scars or anything, so no foul. But yeah, they're going to need outfits Dad that'll be more compatible with them. I've been working on some here." He indicated the body-mesh he'd been tampering with. "I mean, they bear similar body appearances to our females~ just some size issues and I noticed they cover themselves with WAY more stuff than Mom ever did…." He trailed off at the sudden mentioning of his mother but kept a strong face on.

"Thank you…Ph'ury," Mh'dur murmured quietly before allowing his voice to continue more strongly, "The others will appreciate your efforts." He allowed a purr to enter his voice filled with pride at the thoughtfulness and resourcefulness his son was exhibiting towards their ooman travelers. "I am sure you all would like a shower as well."

"Yes," Li-an said and made a motion for him to let her down so she could stand on her own. He complied swiftly and she let him steady her.

"Then I will take these masks to the others—" Mh'dur started but was cut off by his son.

"I'd say they could live like maybe thirty minutes tops on this ship without those masks on, but I wouldn't give them longer than ten minutes on our home world," Ph'ury cut in and looked apologetic towards his father who was merely amused.

"Of course," Mh'dur murmured before continuing, "While you shower, Ph'ury will finish these up and we will leave them out for you." Li-an nodded and followed Mh'dur to another room just as Elizabeth and Rh'vage showed up.

"Where is Terra?" Mh'dur questioned and the two shrugged. He handed one of the reformatted mask-guards to Elizabeth, "Ph'ury designed these and he's working on finishing designing some new outfits for you which will be more acceptable and manageable on our home world."

"Joy, new clothes," Liz muttered sarcastically before entering the showering rooms with Li-an. Elizabeth wasn't looking forward to showering with Li-an, did the Yautja even use running water? That answer was no…It was a weird mist that seemed to come from all directions. It got immensely hot too but the females adapted to it soon enough. Elizabeth glanced over at Li-an who'd undone her braid to get her hair wet and clean. The woman was tiny but Liz could see well defined muscles in her arms and legs. Li-an's back was to her and she saw two tattoos. There was a small red-orange fiery phoenix on Li-an's left shoulder and in the locations of a tramp-stamp there was a blue-black sun of some sorts. The center circle was half shaded with the dark blue color and the outline was done in black. The flames spiraled out from it with black lines and were filled in with the dark blue. The woman ran her fingers through her hair a few times before re-braiding it and attaching it in another loop that she pinned to her head. She cast a glance at Elizabeth who realized she'd been caught staring.

"The one on my left shoulder is the symbol of my family. The phoenix. It means rebirth. It is a sign of hope and everlasting life…The sun on my lower back is more personal message to me…Phoenix were aligned with the sun which cast warmth that they drew their power from. The fire burns brightly orange for them…it was also a masculine symbol. My family is dominantly males and my father wanted a son to continue the line of power down through…but he had me instead. That is why the sun is now darkened and tainted by me. He would always be a warm fire of power and I would suffer a cold rage…It would soon become my greatest strength though…to prove myself to my father that I was the greatest fighter my family would ever know," Li-an explained before leaving the room back to the small chamber room where three sets of outfits were folded neatly and waiting for them.

Their clothes from earlier were gone. Li-an picked up the smaller set meant for her as she reattached her mask to her face. There was a strip of padded black fabric almost like a strapless bra except it had an arm loop for her right arm to keep it more firmly in place. The bottom piece was almost like boy shorts really that was also slightly padded in the groin location. There was also an over-body suit that seemed like fish netting more than anything else. It was close neck collared and had a thumb and pinkie spot in the arms as well as a hook area in the fabric for the big toe to go through. Li-an was dressed quickly and glanced over at Liz who'd yet to get dressed.

"You look like an Amazon Ninja," Liz muttered rather sourly. Li-an gave a slight shrug of her left shoulder.

"It is all we have to wear now," Li-an pointed out and noticed she was being kept a nicer temperature than her surroundings. She indicated the mesh suit, "Self-regulating temperature. It should be nice." Elizabeth grunted before putting hers on. It was more of a sports bra top for which she was grateful for but she disliked the exposure of so much skin. The mesh suit kept her from becoming uncomfortable in the heat though for which was also grateful for. At least her hair was short enough that she didn't have to worry about putting it up.

"Terra's still missing," Elizabeth muttered, crossing her arms firmly under her midriff. Li-an might be okay with the exposure but she wasn't.

"Where might your friend have gone?" the shorter woman questioned as Elizabeth attached her own mask. The older woman made sure to pick up the final one.

"I don't know…but I don't like being barefooted or being so exposed like this," Liz snapped before leaving the room. Li-an followed after her until it became apparent that Elizabeth didn't know where she was going.

"This way," Li-an told her, heading down a corridor, "The place of medicine…is here as well as the…command center?" She hesitated, uncertain if she'd named them correctly.

"Well, from what Rh'vage has told me…his brother has become quiet the medicinal worker," Elizabeth said, heading for the medical room. The door was closed but she hit the keypad to activate it. It slid open and she paused not quite sure what the make of the scene.

"…Is she always like that?" Li-an inquired quietly with eyes that glinted with suppressed amusement. Terra looked like she was glued to Vis'chus's back and he'd given up on trying to get her off. He raised a hand in greeting as Terra continued singing some childish show tune from some random TV show.

"…Yeah, that's her on a good day," Liz said, glad Li-an had taken the spare with her, "Hey Terra. We've got a present for you." Terra stooped snuggling and let go of Vis'chus to attach herself to Elizabeth.

"Oh my GAWD~ he smells so~ amazing. I'm so horny~" She slurred out as Elizabeth took the mask from Li-an to attach it to Terra's face. It took a few moments of filtered oxygen for the dazed look to fade. "Why does she look like a ninja and you look like a goth raver?"

"New outfit," Liz muttered taking Terra's arm firmly, "Take a shower and you'll get your very own too." Terra clung to her friend as she led the young woman away. Li-an chuckled, one hand on her hip as she displayed the other as being empty.

"Looks like you have a problem," Li-an muttered in good humor as Vis'chus glanced down before becoming embarrassed.

"It's the molt—" He started.

"Much like certain birds do to announce they are ready to mate," Li-an interrupted him quietly and he cocked his head to the side, "Perhaps you should hide in your personal quarters for the time being…and meditate." She was amused as she turned to leave, having been reminded of her younger cousins when they'd hit puberty and hadn't wanted to ask their fathers' for advice on the hormonal changes. She'd dealt with plenty of children in her past but bore none of her own and would bear none as her ovaries were infertile and completely bereft of eggs. She'd been told at a young age she would bear no children and that's when her father had decided she would be a useless female…he had later taken her in to train much like he would a s on, partially blaming himself for something he had no control over.

She headed slowly for the command center, or was it the bridge of the ship? She was uncertain even as she entered the room. The Yautja or Dark One known as Rh'vage was going through some reports while seated in a chair. Mh'dur was leaning against the back of the chair, explaining something to Rh'vage that must've been new to him. She thought it might be a report and could be considered classified or at least not for her eyes. She rapped her bare knuckled loudly against the nearest metal surface to attract their attention. Mh'dur straightened and turned but Rh'vage continued doing what he wanted with the information.

"I see the outfit modifications fit," Mh'dur said with a small trace of pride in his voice.

"Your son has done well. He is most thoughtful towards our situations," Li-an insisted and Mh'dur nodded as if he already knew this to be true.

"Come. Join me for a meal," Mh'dur told her as he headed past her, "We will go to my ship, so you may see the differences." She nodded and was swift to follow, even as Rh'vage slowly turned in his seat to watch their disappearances. If he didn't know his old mentor better…he'd say the Yautja was flirting with the ooman woman. Dark Hunter forbid if she started actually flirting back. Ooman were strange creatures especially the female gender. He mused to himself silently as he returned to the report he was composing that would petition for the oomans rights to remain among them. Mh'dur had faith in him to make a strong enough case but Rh'vage had his doubts. By all rights, the one known as Li-an should be killed but his old mentor had worked out an escape clause for that. He hated doing research, because it felt like he was actually working sometimes. He stretched and shifted positions before returning to work. Terra and Elizabeth had already proven themselves before and they were in a previous report that had been reviewed thoroughly by the elders themselves, which is why he currently commanded this very vessel.

**END NOTE: **How you like them apples~? Not a juicy scene like you guys were expecting now was it? Nope. I'm hoping you guys are enjoying this story and forgive me for vanishing for SO long on you. Eh. Sorry again.


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